Article dispensing apparatus with sequentially operable shelves

ABSTRACT

An article-dispensing apparatus having a plurality of vertically aligned shelves, each of which is held in a horizontal position by a latch mechanism and then released to a vertical position to dispense the article supported on the shelf. A compact shelf release unit is provided for each shelf and includes a solenoid for operating the latch mechanism to release the shelf in response to insertion of a coin. Under the control of a simple electric circuit, the shelf release units operate sequentially to release the shelves, starting from the lowermost one, to thereby dispense the articles one at a time. The control circuit includes a plurality of conventional double-throw switches instead of a rotary switch requiring a complicated wiring operation.

[ Apr. 9, 1974 United States Patent 1 Ohno ABSTRACT ARTICLE DISPENSINGAPPARATUS WITH SEQUENTIALLY OPERABLE SHELVES An article-dispensingapparatus having a plurality of [76] Inventor: Kiyomitsu Ohno, 9-9 Naka,

2-chome, Tokyo, Japan Mar. 20, 1973 Appl. No.: 342,961

vertically aligned shelves, each of which is held in ahorizontalposition by a latch mechanism and then re- [22] Filed:

leased to a vertical position to dispense the article supported on theshelf. A compact shelf release unit is provided for each shelf andincludes a solenoid for operating the latch mechanism to release theshelf in re- [52] US. Cl. 221/90 G07f 11/06 sponse to insertion of acoin. Under the control of a simple electric circuit, the shelf releaseunits operate [51] Int.

[58] Field of 221/89, 90

sequentially to release the shelves, starting from the lowermost one, tothereby dispense the articles one at References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1 a time. The control circuit includes a plurality ofconventional double-throw switches instead of a rotary switch requiringa complicated wiring operation.

3,325,049 6/1967 Graven et al. 3,312,321 4/1967 Gretzky 3,163,32512/1964 Mihalek....................,...........

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Primary Examiner-Stanley l-l. TollbergAssistant Examiner-Joseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or FirmFidelman,Wolffe, Leitner & Hiney PATENTEU APR 9 I574 coin- Operated actuatorARTICLE DISPENSING APPARATUS WITH SEQUENTIALLY OPERABLE SHELVESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to an improvedarticle-dispensing apparatus of the type having a plurality ofsequentially operated shelves.

Article dispensing apparatus have heretofore been developed which arecoin operated, and which have 'a plurality of vertically alignedarticle-supporting shelves, operable in sequence starting from thebottom shelf, to release the supported articles one at a time. Whilethese previous machines have proved quite successful, the shelf releasemechanisms in these machines have had certain disadvantages. First, theyhave generally been quite complex, thereby increasing the cost of theapparatus. In addition, they have been of such construction as to makeimpractical the assembly of a shelf release mechanism for each shelf asa unit. In other words, with previous apparatus, if one of the shelfrelease mechanisms malfunctions, the entire apparatus would be of noservice. To eliminate these disadvantages, it has been proposed toprovide a solenoidactuated shelf release mechanism for each shelf, thesolenoids being activated in sequence starting from the bottom shelf byan electric control circuit. However, these control circuits wouldnecessarily include a rotary switch which requires a trobulesome andcomplicated wiring operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there isprovided an article-dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality ofvertically aligned shelves, each shelf being mounted for movementbetween a horizontal supporting position and a vertical non-supportingposition, each shelf including a latch means for holding that shelf inthe horizontal position; a control means including a solenoid foroperating the latch means of that shelf to permit that shelf to movefrom the horizontal position to the vertical position; and a switchmeans having a first operative position to connect the other end of thesolenoid of that shelf to the switch means of the next lower shelfexcept the switch means associated with the lowermost shelf and a secondoperative position to connect the switch means of the next lower shelfto that of the next higher shelf, each switch means being movable fromthe first operative position to the second operative position inresponse to movement of that shelf from its horizontal position to itsvertical position, and an actuator means including a switch andresponsive to closure of the switch for producing one voltage pulse of amagnitude sufficient to energize the solenoid, one end of each solenoidbeing connected in common with the actuator means, the switch means ofthe lowermost shelf in its first position connecting the other end ofthe solenoid of that shelf to the actuator means, whereby the shelvesare moved to the vertical position one at a time in sequence startingfrom the lowermost shelf each time the switch of the actuator means isclosed.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved article-dispensing apparatus.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improvedarticle-dispensing apparatus wherein'each shelf is held in a horizontalposition by a solenoid-actuated latch means and then released to avertical position to dispense the articles. It is a further object ofthis invention to provide, in an article-dispensing apparatus of thetype described, a simple control circuit for operating the latch meansto cause the shelves to fall to the vertical position, starting from thelowermost shelf, one at a time.

It is stillfurther object of this invention to provide an improvedarticle-dispensing apparatus that is capable of giving an indication ofthe number of articles re maining in-or having been dispensed from theapparatus. 1

These and other objects will be apparent from the following descriptionof the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevationof an articledispensing apparatus having a plurality of verticallyalinged shelves, to which the present invention is applicable;

FIG. 2 is a detailed disassembled perspective of one shelf release unitto be mounted on the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit for thearticle-dispensing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, thearticle-dispensing apparatus as depicted comprises a housing or cabinet10 including a plurality of vertically aligned shelves 1 1, each ofwhich is adapted to receive thereon an article such as a pair of bowlingshoes (not shown). The rear of each shelf 11 is secured to a pivotalshaft 12 extending horizontally along the rear wall of the housing 10.The pivotal shaft 12 is rotatably supported in a casing 13 (see FIG. 2)so that each shelf 11 is mounted for rotational movement from ahorizontal position to a vertical position. Each shelf 11 is normallyheld in the horizontal position by a latch mechanism (shown in FIG. 2)and then is released in sequence to the vertical position, starting fromthe lowermost shelf, to dispense the articles, one at a time. Thearticles on the shelves 11 drop into a chute 16 provided at the bottomof the housing 10, the delivery zone of which is available to apurchaser or borrower through an aperture 18 in the front wall of thehousing 10.

In FIG. 2, there is shown a typical arrangement of a shelf release unitfor determining the position of the shelf 11. The casing 13 of the unitis secured to the housing 10 by such means as screws 15 and has twoopenings 20 (only one of which is shown for simplicity of illustration)formed in. the respective side walls thereof. Each opening 20 is adaptedto rotatably support one end of the pivotal shaft 12, as indicated bythe dash-and-dot line 16. The latch mechanism includes an engagementplate 22 pivotally mounted at one end to the'interior of the casing 13and having a concave portion 23 for receiving and holding the edgedportion 25a of a first cam 25 which is secured to the pivotal shaft 12.An armature 27 is secured to the other end of the engagement plate 22substantially perpendicularly thereof and extends through a solenoid 28which is fixed to the side wall of the casing 13. Thus, energization ofthe solenoid 28 causes the armature 27 to move upward, thereby rotatingthe engagement plate 22 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed inFIG. 2.

- Provided on the casing 13 adjacent the opening 20 are two switches SAand SB which are so positioned that their operating levers 30 and 31 areactuated by a second cam 33 secured to the pivotal shaft 12. Each switchSA, SB is of single-pole, double-throw type having a movable contact aselectively engageable with two fixed contacts b and (see FIG. 3). Theseswitch means SA and SB, together with the solenoid 28, are connected toa plug 35 and a receptacle 36 by means of lines or cords 37 and 38. Thereceptacle 36 is provided on the casing 13 for receiving the plugleading from the shelf release unit associated with the next lowershelf.

It should be noted that the switch SB is disposed below the opening 20so that it is not actuated until the shelf has been moved to thevertical position. This will serve to prevent many shelves from fallingto their vertical position substantially at a time, for example, due tomany coins undesirably accumulated in the coin slot.

In the operation of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2, the solenoid 28 isactivated upon insertion of a coin, causing the armature 27 to moveupward against the action of gravities of the armature and theengagement plate. This will rotate the engagement plate 22 in acounter-clockwise direction to disengage the edged portion 250 of thefirst cam 25 from the concave portion 23 of the engagement plate 22,thus permitting the shelf 11 to move from the horizontal position to thevertical position.

It will be appreciated that while the solenoid 28 remains deactivated,the engagement plate 22 is subjected to a force tending to rotate it ina clockwise direction due to the weight of the engagement plate itselfand the armature, and hence the shelf 11 is firmly held in thehorizontal position by the latch mechanism including the engagementplate.

Further, it should be noted that the cord 38 leading from the casing 13to the plug 35 is conveniently made long enough to be connected to thereceptacle for the shelf which is located immediately above theparticular shelf except one or two, since, even if the next higher shelfrelease unit becomes faulty, the article-dispensing apparatus may beserviceable by removing the faulty shelf release unit or manually movingthe shelf of the faulty unit to the vertical position, simultaneouslywith the insertion of the plug for the particular shelf into thereceptacle for the shelf immediately above the faulty shelf.

In FIG. 3, there is shown a typical example of the control circuit foroperating the article-dispensing apparatus of the invention.

Designated by MCI, MC2 MCn are solenoids which correspond to that asindicated at 28 in FIG. 2, and which are connected at one end to acommon line 50 leading to a coin operated actuator 51. The actuator 51includes a coin switch (not shown) and is adapted to produce at itsoutput one-shot pulse having a width of about 0.1 second in response toinsertion of a coin. Another output line 52 connects the actuator 51 tothe movable contact 0 of a switch SBl associated with the lowermostshelf. The normally closed contact a of the switch 881 is connected tothe other end of the solenoid MCI, and the normally open contact bthereof is connected to the movable contact 0 of a switch SB2 for thesecond lowest shelf through a line 53. Similarly, the normally closedcontact a of a switch SBrn is connected to the other end of the solenoidMCm, and the normally open contact b thereof is connected to the movablecontact c of a switch SBm+l. However, the normally open contact b of theswitch SBn associated with the highest shelf is connected to an alarmdevice 54 to give a warning if all the articles received in theapparatus are dispensed. In this embodiment, the alarm device 54comprises an electric lamp or a buzzer and a selfsustaining relay.

The left half of the circuit shown in FIG. 3 is an indicator circuitwhich is capable of providing information on the number of articlesremaining in the dispensing apparatus. The indicator circuit includes aplurality of resistors R1, R2, R3 Rn of identical resistance, the numberof the resistors being equal to that of the shelf release units. Theseresistors R are connected in series across a source of AC. voltage.

An indicator IND is provided which is of the type including aconventional voltmeter. The indicator is connected between the voltagesource and the movable contact 0 of a switches SAl, the switch SAlcorresponding to that shown in FIG. 2. The normally closed contact a,that is, the contact normally engaged by the movable contact 0 whentheshelf is held in its horizontal position, of the switch SAl isconnected to a point between the voltage source and the resistor R1, andthe normally open contact b of the switch SAl is connected through aline 62 to the movable contact 0 of a switch SA2 associated with thesecond lowest shelf. The normally closed contact a of the switch SA2 isconnected to a point between the resistors R1 and R2 and, similarly, thenormally open contact b of the switch SA2 is connected to the movablecontact c of a switches SA3. The normally open contact b of a switch SAnassociated with the highest shelf is connected directly to a pointbetween the resistor Rn and the voltage source.

The operation of the control circuit shown in FIG. 3 is as follows:

Each time a coin is thrown into a coin slot (not shown), the actuator 51generates one pulse which is supplied through one or more switches SB toone of the solenoids MC. If, now, all the shelves 11 are held in theirhorizontal position to receive articles thereon, the pulse signal passesthrough the normally closed contact a of the switch 881 to the solenoidMCI, causing energization of the solenoid. When this occurs, theengagement plate 22 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 2 to disengage from the edged portion 25a of the firstcam 25, so that the lowermost shelf 11 moves to the vertical position.As a result, the second cam 33 rotates to the position where it operatesthe switch SBl so that the movable contact 0 moves away from the fixedcontact a and into contact with another fixed contact b. Simultaneously,the switch SAl is operated by the cam 33 to cause the movable contact 0to engage the fixed contact b. In this case, the indicator 60 isconnected across the source voltage and the resistor R1 through theswitches SAl and SA2.

When another coin is inserted, the pulse signal passes through theswitch SBl, line 52 and switch SB2 to energize the solenoid MC2.Actuation of the solenoid MC2 moves the second lowest shelf to thevertical position,

causing the switches SA2 and 8B2 to be operated so that their associatedmovable contacts c engage the respective fixed contacts b. Thus, theline 52 is connected through the switches SB! and SB2 to the movablecontact 0 of the switch SE3 to ready the solenoid MC3 for actuation and,on the other hand, the resistor R2 is added across the indicator 60through the switches SA2 and 8A3. In this manner, the shelves 11 of thedispensing apparatus are moved sequentially to the vertical position todrop articles one at a time in response to insertion of a coin. Further,since the voltage appearing across the indicator 60 decreases with thenumber of energized solenoids MC, it is possible, by proper graduationof the indicator, to give an indication of the number of articlesremaining in or having been dispensed from the dispensing apparatus.

Although the control circuit of the invention has been described withits application to an articledispensing apparatus, it should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that this circuit could equallybe applied to various automatic control systems without de parting fromthe true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article-dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of verticallyaligned shelves, each shelf being mounted for movement between ahorizontal supporting position and a vertical non-supporting position,each shelf including a latch means for holding that shelf in thehorizontal position; a control means including a solenoid for operatingthe latch means of that shelf to permit that shelf to move from thehorizontal position to the vertical positionj and a first switch meanshaving a first operative position to connect the other end of thesolenoid of that shelf to the first switch means of the next lower shelfexcept the first switch means associated with the lowermost shelf and asecond operative position to connect thefirst switch means of the nextlower shelf to that of the next higher shelf, each first switch meansbeing movable from the first operative position to the second operativeposition in response to movement of that shelf from its horizontalposition to its vertical position, and an actuator means including aswitch and responsive to closure of the switch for producing one voltagepulse of a magnitude sufficient to energize the solenoid, one end ofeach solenoid being commonly connected with the actuator means, theswitch means of the lowermost shelf in its first position connecting theother end of the solenoid of that shelf to the actuator means, wherebythe shelves are moved to the vertical position one at a time in sequencestarting from the lowermost shelf each time the switch of the actuatormeans is closed.

2. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim l, wherein eachshelf includes a casing and a pivotal shaft secured to the rear of thatshelf, the pivotal shaft being rotatably supported in the casing; thelatch means comprising a cam having an edge portion and secured to thepivotal shaft, and an engagement plate pivotally mounted at one endthereof to the casing and having a concave portion for receiving andholding the edge portion of the cam; the control means including anarmature for coacting with the solenoid, the armature being secured tothe other end of the engagement plate so that energization of thesolenoid moves the engagement plate to a position to release the camthereby permitting that shelf to fall to the vertical position.

3. An'article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein eachfirst switch means is operated by a cam secured to the pivotal shaft ofthat shelf so that the first switch means is moved from itsfirstoperative position to its second operative position in response tomovement of that shelf from its horizontal position to its verticalposition.

4. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein eachfirst switch means is disposed so that it is not moved to its secondoperative position until the shelf has been moved to its verticalposition.

5. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, including analarm device that gives a warning if the uppermost shelf is moved to thevertical position.

6. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thealarm device comprises a buzzer.

. 7. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thealarm device comprises an electric lamp.

8. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, including apower source of fixed voltage, an indicator having one end connected tothe power source, a resistor for each shelf, the resistors having anidentical resistance and being connected in series across the powersource, and second switch means for each shelf, each second switch meanshaving a first operative position to connect one end of the resistor ofthat shelf to the second switch means of the next lower shelf except thesecond switch means associated with the lowermost shelf and a secondoperative position to connect the second switch means of the next lowershelf to that of the next higher shelf except the second switch meansassociated with the uppermost shelf, each second switch means beingmovable from the first operative position to the second operativeposition in response to movement of that shelf from its horizontalposition to its vertical position, the second switch means of thelowermost shelf in its first operative position connecting one end ofthe resistor of that shelf to the indicator, the second switch means ofthe uppermost shelf in its second operative position connecting thesecond switch means of the second highest shelf to the other end of theresistor associated with the uppermost shelf, whereby the number of theresistors being connected across the indicator decreases one at a timein response to closure of the switch of the actuator means.

9. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein eachsecond switch means is operated by a cam secured to the pivotal shaft ofthat shelf so that the second switch means is moved from its firstoperative position to its second operative position in response tomovement of that shelf from its horizontal position to its verticalposition.

1. An article-dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of verticallyaligned shelves, each shelf being mounted for movement between ahorizontal supporting position and a vertical nonsupporting position,each shelf including a latch means for holding that shelf in thehorizontal position; a control means including a solenoid for operatingthe latch means of that shelf to permit that shelf to move from thehorizontal position to the vertical position; and a first switch meanshaving a first operative position to connect the other end of thesolenoid of that shelf to the first switch means of the next lower shelfexcept the first switch means associated with the lowermost shelf and asecond operative position to connect the first switch means of the nextlower shelf to that of the next higher shelf, each first switch meansbeing movable from the first operative position to the second operativeposition in response to movement of that shelf from its horizontalposition to its vertical position, and an actuator means including aswitch and responsive to closure of the switch for producing one voltagepulse of a magnitude sufficient to energize the solenoid, one end ofeach solenoid being commonly connected with the actuator means, theswitch means of the lowermost shelf in its first position connecting theother end of the solenoid of that shelf to the actuator means, wherebythe shelves are moved to the vertical position one at a time in sequencestarting from the lowermost shelf each time the switch of the actuatormeans is closed.
 2. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim1, wherein each shelf includes a casing and a pivotal shaft secured tothe rear of that shelf, the pivotal shaft being rotatably supported inthe casing; the latch means comprising a cam having an edge portion andsecured to the pivotal shaft, and an engagement plate pivotally mountedat one end thereof to the casing and having a concave portion forreceiving and holding the edge portion of the cam; the control meansincluding an armature for coacting with the solenoid, the armature beingsecured to the other end of the engagement plate so that energization ofthe solenoid moves the engagement plate to a position to release the camthereby permitting that shelf to fall to the vertical position.
 3. Anarticle-dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each firstswitch means is operated by a cam secured to the pivotal shaft of thatshelf so that the first switch means is moved from its first operativeposition to its second operative position in response to movement ofthat shelf from its horizontal position to its vertical position.
 4. Anarticle-dispensing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each firstswitch means is disposed so that it is not moved to its second operativeposition until the shelf has been moved to its vertical position.
 5. Anarticle-dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, including an alarmdevice that gives a warning if the uppermost shelf is moved to thevertical position.
 6. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim5, wherein the alarm device comprises a buzzer.
 7. An article-dispensingapparatus according to claim 5, wherein the alarm device comprises anelectric lamp.
 8. An article-dispensing apparatus according to claim 1,including a power source of fixed voltage, an indicator having one endconnected to the power source, a resistor for each shelf, the resistorshaving an identical resistance and being connected in series across thepower source, and second switch means for each shelf, each second switchmeans having a first operative position to connect one end of theresistor of that shelf to the second switch means of the next lowershelf except the second switch means associated with the lowermost shelfand a second operative position to connect the second switch means ofthe next lower shelf to that of the next higher shelf except the secondswitch means associated with the uppermost shelf, each second swiTchmeans being movable from the first operative position to the secondoperative position in response to movement of that shelf from itshorizontal position to its vertical position, the second switch means ofthe lowermost shelf in its first operative position connecting one endof the resistor of that shelf to the indicator, the second switch meansof the uppermost shelf in its second operative position connecting thesecond switch means of the second highest shelf to the other end of theresistor associated with the uppermost shelf, whereby the number of theresistors being connected across the indicator decreases one at a timein response to closure of the switch of the actuator means.
 9. Anarticle-dispensing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each secondswitch means is operated by a cam secured to the pivotal shaft of thatshelf so that the second switch means is moved from its first operativeposition to its second operative position in response to movement ofthat shelf from its horizontal position to its vertical position.